If you ask the community, especially the men, to list what they think of for queer spaces, the topic of bathhouses is near the top. The dark places full of masc dudes where you can go after the bar or during a free afternoon to chill out in the tub, or chat with like-minded gents. Perhaps the right hunk catches your eye and you take him back to your roomette... or you take a spin through the darkroom where your eye has very little to do with it. The bath is a temple of no-strings gay sex -- or at least it was until Halifax's Seadogs Sauna closed in 2022.
At 2199 Gottingen Street, in the same place and mostly layout as Seadogs, then Torpedo, then very briefly Sauna GI Joe, then Seadogs again, is Night Spa: “Halifax's only mixed gender, private members, clothing optional Spa.”
Last week, Wayves sent your girl out into the night with nothing but her towel and shower shoes for protection (and of course a little protection) to get the answers.
What does that mean? What are the changes? Is the hot tub still leaking down the wall? What should a first-time visitor expect and how do they visit? Is a mixed gender spa even still a queer space or have the straights taken over our bathhouse like bachelorettes at a drag show?
Last week, Wayves sent your girl out into the night with nothing but her towel and shower shoes for protection (and of course a little protection) to get the answers.
First of all, you don't just walk up on a whim or stumble in on your way home after striking out at the bar. Anyone can apply to this members-only club, through their website nightspa.ca. After some fairly straightforward screening questions, you book your party ahead of time.
The process makes this more of a planned date out with your partner, than a place to sneak off to for a few hours while she is at her mother's.
Prices vary based on what and how much of the night you book and your gender. Femmes and them's get a discount that may not make up for the gender pay gap but is nice.
An evening out starts at about $40 for 4-hours, more if you book a room to stretch out or play in. First-timers are advised to take a tour. These are done in the early part of a Friday night before the fun kicks off so they can get the lay of the land from one of their gender diverse staff with the lights up. They're told the rules face to face, so nobody can plead ignorance of the policies.
Anyone even remotely familiar with the kink community will recognize the rules are there to protect everyone and make them feel safe. They range from simple stuff like "no outdoor shoes in the spa," to very clear rules about consent along with good advice about safer sex.
Anyone even remotely familiar with the kink community will recognize the rules are there to protect everyone and make them feel safe.
On the tour, you pass through the locker room and into the spa. There's a lounge with a hot tub, dry sauna and showers, kept very clean, with new floors and other notable improvements from the Sea Dogs space. They are not reinventing the wheel, but it's definitely an upgrade with comfortable seating. The old CRT screens with the VHS porn are gone.
Downstairs is where the real fun happens! There is a dark room with a sling and a few different forms of glory holes for those looking for that kind of fun, along with a spanking bench and a space for public play. The weekends are fully mixed gender but they also have a Femmes night for the more sapphic and a Masc night for the bros who want a more traditional bath house experience. There's a naked rock band night to relax midweek and rock out... with whatever you got out.
The whole place feels more civilised and less like a brick and mortar version of Grindr.
The whole place feels more civilised and less like a brick and mortar version of Grindr. This is thanks to the efforts of Chris and his staff who are charting new ground in this part of the world. The last time I was in the old space I was made to feel rather uncomfortable with comments like, “what are you, some kind of drag queen?” from creepy old dudes when they saw my nails. Now the people are younger and come from all over the gender spectrum, just like the staff. As the kids say “the vibes are immaculate” and that didn't happen on its own, but through a lot of clear choices to take what worked and leave the rest of the baggage behind.
This is Wayves so we have to ask “is it queer?” and that's a solid yes, but now it's a space for all, not just the Masc folks, but for the Femmes and them's too.
It's not your Daddy's bathhouse, but it's still a temple of sex, but maybe just a different denomination. What the queer community looks like is changing; Night Spa is part of our spaces changing to keep, up as more inclusive ideas on gender become the norm.
